42-52 Granada Street
Dublin Core
Title
42-52 Granada Street
42-52 Granada Street, St. Augustine, Fla. 32084
Subject
Green, William S. and Mary Palmes
Undertaking establishment (name, owner, and dates unknown)
The Traveler (owner and dates unknown)
Millie's Sandwich Shop (owner and dates unknown)
Law Offices (owners and dates unknown)
Body Bait (owner and dates unknown
Other stores (misc; names, owners, and dates unknown)
St. Augustine Improvement Company (owner and dates unknown)
St. Augustine Hose Company No. 1 (owner and dates unknown)
The city's first telephone exchange (name, owner, and dates unknown)
Restaurants (names, owners, and dates unknown)
A saloon (name, owner, and dates unknown)
A pawn shop (name, owner, and dates unknown)
A junk dealer (name, owner, and dates unknown)
Grocery stores (names, owners, and dates unknown)
Newspaper printing (name, owner, and dates unknown)
A bar (name, owner, and dates unknown)
The Buckingham Smith Benevolent Home for Blacks (owner and dates unknown), later the Buckingham hotel.
Description
History:
The neighborhoods bounded by King, Bridge, Granada and Riberia Streets evolved out of five late 18th century Spanish land grants. The largest, encompassing three-quarters of the area, was given to Valentine Fitzpatrick, an Irishman who was chief physician at the royal hospital, and was later acquired by Fernando de la Maza Arrendondo, Jr., one of the largest landholders in colonial Florida. The area was generally dedicated to citriculture, and one orange grove along Bridge Street between Central Avenue and Granada Street was owned by Philip Edinburgh, a free Black, from 1801-1831. (1) Prominent early streets in the area include Bridge Street, a colonial thoroughfar which led to one of three late 18th century ferry crossings and a mid-19th century sawmill, and King Street, a public road opened in the 1820's which connected the old city with the newly completed San Sebastian River Bridge. Of all sections outside the colonial city, this area was the most intensively developed in the pre-Civil War years, particularly along the two principal streets.(2) Extensive residential development first occurred in the late 19th century, especially along Bridge, Sanford, Weeden and Bravo Streets. A number of stately buildings were then constructed along Kin Street, the Senator Gilbert residence and Zorayda Castle, and along Granada (formerly Bronson) Street, the Buckingham Smith Benevolent Home for Blacks, later a hotel. Another Construction boom took place in the 1920's along Central Avenue and Ceder Street, and the western section of the street was platted at that time into Burt and Colee Subdivisions, the latter housing the stables for the St. Augustine Transfer Company.
Over the years, the site of 42-52 Granada Street has been used for a variety of businesses. Some of the former structures included the St. Augustine Improvement Company, one of the major land developers during the Flagler era, which briefly occupied a large building in the northwest corner of the complex.(4) Other occupants included St. Augustine Hose Company No. 1, the city's first telephone exchange, stores, restaurants, a saloon, an undertaking establishment, a pawn shop and a junk dealer.(5) The current building complex was built in the 1920's and has been used for gorcery stores, shops, newspaper printing, law offices, a sandwich shop, and a bar.(6)
The neighborhoods bounded by King, Bridge, Granada and Riberia Streets evolved out of five late 18th century Spanish land grants. The largest, encompassing three-quarters of the area, was given to Valentine Fitzpatrick, an Irishman who was chief physician at the royal hospital, and was later acquired by Fernando de la Maza Arrendondo, Jr., one of the largest landholders in colonial Florida. The area was generally dedicated to citriculture, and one orange grove along Bridge Street between Central Avenue and Granada Street was owned by Philip Edinburgh, a free Black, from 1801-1831. (1) Prominent early streets in the area include Bridge Street, a colonial thoroughfar which led to one of three late 18th century ferry crossings and a mid-19th century sawmill, and King Street, a public road opened in the 1820's which connected the old city with the newly completed San Sebastian River Bridge. Of all sections outside the colonial city, this area was the most intensively developed in the pre-Civil War years, particularly along the two principal streets.(2) Extensive residential development first occurred in the late 19th century, especially along Bridge, Sanford, Weeden and Bravo Streets. A number of stately buildings were then constructed along Kin Street, the Senator Gilbert residence and Zorayda Castle, and along Granada (formerly Bronson) Street, the Buckingham Smith Benevolent Home for Blacks, later a hotel. Another Construction boom took place in the 1920's along Central Avenue and Ceder Street, and the western section of the street was platted at that time into Burt and Colee Subdivisions, the latter housing the stables for the St. Augustine Transfer Company.
Over the years, the site of 42-52 Granada Street has been used for a variety of businesses. Some of the former structures included the St. Augustine Improvement Company, one of the major land developers during the Flagler era, which briefly occupied a large building in the northwest corner of the complex.(4) Other occupants included St. Augustine Hose Company No. 1, the city's first telephone exchange, stores, restaurants, a saloon, an undertaking establishment, a pawn shop and a junk dealer.(5) The current building complex was built in the 1920's and has been used for gorcery stores, shops, newspaper printing, law offices, a sandwich shop, and a bar.(6)
Architecture:
The one-story Commercial Masonry Vernacular structure at 42-52 Granada Street was constructed between 1917 and 1924. Formerly on this site were several small stores and shops not connected until a later date. The area borders the hotel district on the north and the Black business district on the south.
This area is bordered and cut through by narrow, heavily traveled thoroughfares. It is adjacent to the downtown business district and reflects the parking problems of that area. It is bounded at the west by a largely abandoned industrial and warehouse district along Riberia Street. On the east it is bordered by what was filled land of Maria Sanchez Creek, transformed into the great hotels of the Flagler era. The whole area suffers from the fact that it has been zoned in commercial classifications, residential neighborhoods and all. It is a combined commercial, industrial and residential area where the residential sector has been losing out to the commercial one over the years. Significant buildings like the Buckingham Hotel, the Gilbert Villa and the Kellogg Cottage have been demolished for parking lots and other developments. The area once was famous in landscape architecture for its orange groves and rose gardens, but these, too, are gone. The area borders on sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including Markland, Hotel Ponce de Leon and Alcazar Hotel, and contains many significant buildings and groups of buildings. Along Bridge Street, and in the area of Weeden, Sanford, and Bravo Streets it is one of St. Augustine's most extensive Victorian neighborhoods. Also Block 46-A is an architectural curiosity of the city, containing more examples of different styles than any other single block.
The one-story Commercial Masonry Vernacular structure at 42-52 Granada Street was constructed between 1917 and 1924. Formerly on this site were several small stores and shops not connected until a later date. The area borders the hotel district on the north and the Black business district on the south.
This area is bordered and cut through by narrow, heavily traveled thoroughfares. It is adjacent to the downtown business district and reflects the parking problems of that area. It is bounded at the west by a largely abandoned industrial and warehouse district along Riberia Street. On the east it is bordered by what was filled land of Maria Sanchez Creek, transformed into the great hotels of the Flagler era. The whole area suffers from the fact that it has been zoned in commercial classifications, residential neighborhoods and all. It is a combined commercial, industrial and residential area where the residential sector has been losing out to the commercial one over the years. Significant buildings like the Buckingham Hotel, the Gilbert Villa and the Kellogg Cottage have been demolished for parking lots and other developments. The area once was famous in landscape architecture for its orange groves and rose gardens, but these, too, are gone. The area borders on sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including Markland, Hotel Ponce de Leon and Alcazar Hotel, and contains many significant buildings and groups of buildings. Along Bridge Street, and in the area of Weeden, Sanford, and Bravo Streets it is one of St. Augustine's most extensive Victorian neighborhoods. Also Block 46-A is an architectural curiosity of the city, containing more examples of different styles than any other single block.
Creator
David Nolan
Charlie Ewing
Source
Florida Master Site File
Publisher
Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board
Date
July 1978
Identifier
8SJ873
Citation
David Nolan and Charlie Ewing, “42-52 Granada Street,” Resilience: Black Heritage in St. Augustine, accessed May 4, 2024, https://blackheritagestaugustine.omeka.net/items/show/176.